


Exodus

by RandomThingsInLife



Series: It's Overwhelming [4]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie Kaspbrak Gets Divorced, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, F/M, Gen, Losers Club Group Chat (IT), M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Boys, The Losers Club Are Good Friends (IT), fix-it AU, surprisingly reasonable Myra Kaspbrak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23794204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomThingsInLife/pseuds/RandomThingsInLife
Summary: Eddie navigates a divorce and the beginning of a new relationship.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: It's Overwhelming [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633264
Comments: 6
Kudos: 62





	Exodus

**Author's Note:**

> How much time did I spend researching how divorce works in NY? Too much. How much did I include in this? Not much. Hand waving the legal stuff instead. *shrug*

Eddie shifts nervously in the front seat of his rental car. He’s parked at the airport, waiting for Richie to finish returning his rental. They’ve said goodbye to the other Losers and are about to go back to New York so Eddie can tie up his life there. Richie’s in good humor. Has been since they talked about this whole thing. Has been since they killed the fucking clown. Eddie’s been just as giddy, but now that they’re out of the bubble of the Losers Club reunion, he’s started worrying.

Of course he’s worried, that’s kind of who he is as a person. He knows that things are going to be complicated for a while and he’s not exactly sure how this will play out. He’s trying not to stress out over it, but he’s stressed. He’s, working on it. He should probably start going to therapy. He’s got more than enough issues.

Richie breaks him out of his mental spiral when he opens the door and slides into the passenger seat. They’d gone ahead and put Richie’s things into Eddie’s trunk back at the Townhouse, so all they have to do now is drive.

“Ready, Spaghetti?” Richie grins at him.

Eddie rolls his eyes and starts the car. “If you’re going to be like that the whole way, I’m going to leave you on the side of the road,” he says.

“No, you won’t,” Richie says, confident. “You love me.”

There’s a spark of playfulness in Richie’s eyes, and some deeper emotion playing behind it. Love, Eddie realizes, or maybe admits to himself, it’s love. Richie loves him and that’s what that weird look Richie’d given him a lot as kids meant. That’s what that look means now. Eddie’s got to get used to that, he’s not sure how long that will take, but, god, they’ve got the rest of their lives.

“Yeah, Rich,” Eddie says, voice gone soft. “I do.”

Richie grins silently at him as he pulls out of the parking lot and gets them rolling. It’s about a seven-hour drive without traffic, and while it felt infinitely longer going to Derry, it feels like hardly any time has passed before they’re getting close. Eddie expected a lot more bickering between him and Richie on the way, but they end up having a peaceful ride, talking through their better childhood memories and reveling in the fact that they remember.

As they get close to the city, Eddie suddenly realizes he’s not sure where he’s going. He goes tense. He hadn’t actually thought this part through.

“Hey, Eddie, talk to me, what’s wrong?” Richie says.

“I didn’t actually think about where we’d go once we got here,” Eddie says. His chest feels tight.

“Hey no, don’t freak out. Let’s go to a hotel. I’ll get us a room and we’ll deal with everything else tomorrow,” Richie says.

Eddie takes a deep breath, nods, and pulls into a gas station. While Eddie fills the tank, Richie makes a call. When Eddie gets back into the car, Richie’s plugged an address into the GPS.

“Drive on, Eduardo,” Richie says obnoxiously.

Eddie rolls his eyes but doesn’t comment.

He’s stunned when they pull up to the hotel. It’s nice, nicer than he’d expected.

“Fancy,” he says as they park.

“Only the best for my Eds,” Richie says, hopping out of the car and hauling Eddie’s suitcases and his own duffel out of the trunk.

Eddie follows Richie inside in a daze. Richie steps up to the counter and Eddie lets himself space out until Richie bumps his shoulder and gestures to the elevators. Richie hits the button for their floor and Eddie suddenly realizes he’s not sure what he’s agreed to.

They’d talked about wanting to be together, talked about him moving in with Richie, but they hadn’t talked about this limbo period Eddie’s in now. Probably because Eddie hadn’t wanted to think about it.

He follows Richie to their room silently and breathes a quiet sigh of relief when he sees that Richie’s booked them a two-room suite.

“I wasn’t sure how long we’d be here,” Richie says.

“Thanks for this, Rich. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought about this part,” Eddie says.

“Cause we were a little caught up. It’s easier to make big plans when you’re separated from the logistics. Lucky for me, shitty comedy pays well.” Richie says.

Eddie smiles at him.

“Which room to you want?” Richie asks, dropping his bag in the middle of the sitting area and going to the window.

“Do you mind if I-” Eddie starts then cuts himself off. He doesn’t actually need to do a cleanliness inspection of the room. That’s not a thing normal people do.

“Go ahead, Eds. Inspect away,” Richie says, smiling at him like he knew this was coming and loves him for it.

Eddie is overwhelmed by how much he loves Richie. He’d kiss him, but he’s in a weird headspace.

“Thanks Rich,” he says instead and does a thorough inspection of both rooms, the sitting area, and the kitchenette.

He drags his bags into one room then returns to drop onto the couch.

“All good?” Richie asks.

“Yeah,” Eddie says.

Richie smiles and takes his duffel bag to the other bedroom.

“I’ll probably have to go shopping tomorrow,” Richie says. “I didn’t exactly pack much for a few days on tour and I ruined like half of my decent clothes in the sewers.”

“Aw shit, Rich,” Eddie groans. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that.”

“Hey,” Richie says, settling onto the couch next to him. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine. I’ve got enough clean clothes for tomorrow and I’ll go shopping while you do whatever you need to do. I think Ben and Bev are here too, maybe Bev will help me.”

“You certainly need help. You never outgrew your Hawaiian shirt phase,” Eddie says.

“I wear flannels too, I’ll have you know. I am from Maine!” Richie says, giving him a wide, dopey grin.

Eddie laughs, the tension finally fully leaving him. He’s happy, stupidly happy, here with Richie.

They order room service in leu of going out to find dinner and Richie texts with Bev for a bit.

As they head off for bed, Richie presses a gentle kiss to Eddie’s forehead.

“Night, Eds,” He says, quiet, gentle.

Eddie aches. “Night, Rich,” he replies.

As Eddie brushes his teeth, his phone dings on the counter. He looks. It’s the group chat.

**Richie:** day one out of Derry and all is well

Attached is a picture of the skyline from his room.

Eddie smiles.

The phone dings again.

**Bev:** Nice! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

**Bill:** Where are you, Richie?

**Richie:** NYC Baby!

**Bill:** Why?

**Stan:** He went with Eddie.

Eddie can practically see Stan rolling his eyes.

**Bill:** Why?

**Bev:** Let’s see how long it takes him to figure it out

**Richie:** You’re a cruel one, Marsh

**Bev:** Thank you, Thank you

**Bill:** I’m so lost.

**Mike:** lol

**Ben:** See you tomorrow, Rich!

**Richie:** Haystack! You’re coming too?

**Ben:** Yep!

**Richie:** _[gif of a man with hearts taped to his eyes captioned Heart eyes Motherfucker]_

**Ben:** How do you do that?!?

**Richie:** I have a gif keyboard

**Bev:** ok, but do you say it with a g or a j?

The chat devolves into a furious debate over the correct pronunciation. Eddie laughs quietly and climbs into bed.

**Mike:** Eddie’s okay right?

**Richie:** Yeah, why?

**Mike:** He hasn’t joined in on this chat.

**Richie:** He was in the bathroom

**Richie:** He was brushing his teeth like a good boy

**Bev:** How do you know, Rich?

**Richie:** I COULD HEAR THE TAP RUNNING OKAY?!?!?

**Richie:** Back me up here Eds

**Eddie:** That’s not my name.

**Richie:** Eddie, please

**Eddie:** I mean he’s right…

**Eddie:** but that’s kinda creepy, Rich. You spying on me?

**Richie:** I JUST SAID I COULD HEAR THE WATER ASSHOLE

**Stan:** I would just like to point out that Richie just called Eddie by his actual name and said please.

**Bev:** what has this world come to

**Stan:** We have witnessed a miracle.

**Bev:** Are we sure we haven’t witnessed a sign of the apocalypse?

**Richie:** Fuck you both very much

**Richie:** I miss you guys already

**Ben:** Losers reunion redo?

**Stan:** With less horror this time

**Richie:** Guess that means Billiam can’t come

**Bill:** Fuck you Rich

**Richie:** Sorry, Billy, you’re not my type.

**Eddie:** You sure about that Rich?

Eddie can hear Richie laughing in the other room.

**Richie:** Holy shit! Eddie Spaghetti gets off a good one!

**Eddie:** Don’t you have plans tomorrow, asshole? Go to sleep!

**Bev:** Yes yes yes!!! Good night!!

Everyone says goodnight and Eddie puts his phone down. He picks it back up and emails his lawyer. Surprisingly, she emails him back almost immediately and they set up a meeting for the next morning. He’s still got a few days off work, so he’s free. It’s a weight lifted and he drifts off to sleep.

He wakes up to the smell of coffee. He blearily makes his way out to the kitchenette. Richie is glaring at the coffee pot while it brews.

“Morning,” Eddie manages to grit out.

Richie startles a little. “Morning Eds,” he says. “Big plans today?”

“I’m meeting with my lawyer this morning,” Eddie says.

“Oh!” Richie says.

“What?” Eddie asks.

“I just, I didn’t realize you already had a lawyer,” Richie says.

“Yeah. One of my co-workers got divorced last year and really liked their lawyer. I called her before I left for Derry and things are already moving. It’s just going over how this is going to go and what else I need to do,” Eddie says.

“Wow, okay, nice,” Richie says.

Eddie laughs. “You stay up late?” he asks.

“Not that late. Talked to my manager last night. I’m also useless before coffee,” Richie says.

“What did you tell your manager?” Eddie asks.

“Uh, that I wanted to fire the writers and write my own material. That I’m gonna be here for a while, but I don’t know how long yet. That part’s fine, cause my tour ended and we hadn’t announced new dates. He’s a little freaked about me firing the writers, but I can’t keep hiding behind content I hate. I don’t _want_ to keep hiding. I told him, I told him I’m gay,” Richie says.

“How’d that go?” Eddie asks tentatively.

“He was surprised. Asked me what I planned to do. I told him I want to come out, but I wasn’t sure how yet. He was, supportive, I guess. Just mostly shocked. I think he’s more nervous about letting me write than anything else, since he’s never seen anything I’ve done.” Richie shrugs.

“You’ll do great, Rich,” Eddie says.

“Thanks Eds,” Richie smiles.

The coffee maker beeps and Richie whirls around to get it. He pours a cup for both of them.

“There’s some sugar packets in the drawer, but no creamer. I don’t know how you take your coffee,” Richie says.

“Usually black, cause I was under the mistaken impression that I was sick and had allergies. That’s the first thing I did once I started remembering things,” Eddie says.

“What?” Richie says.

“Oh, I went to the coffee shop and ordered a drink that was mostly sugar.” Eddie laughs.

Richie’s smiling at him fondly.

Eddie smiles back.

Richie’s phone buzzes and he glances down at it, grimaces.

Eddie makes a questioning noise.

“Manager,” Richie says. “He thinks I should get back on Twitter.”

Eddie shrugs. “Up to you Rich,” he says.

“I probably will. Follow for more,” Richie says and winks.

Eddie’s pretty sure he’s blushing and hides behind his coffee.

Richie shuffles off to go get ready and Eddie pulls his phone out. He’s definitely already following Richie on Twitter, but now he turns notifications on.

His phone dings as he’s finishing his coffee.

**Richie Tozier** **✓** **@trashmouthtozier** After a rough few days, I’m happy to announce that everyone is okay. Thanks for your support.

**Richie Tozier** **✓** **@trashmouthtozier** I had the pleasure of meeting back up with childhood friends while I was back home. Which means I’ll now subject all of you to our stupid as fuck friendship. #yourewelcome

**Beverly Marsh** **✓** **@BevMarsh** @trashmouthtozier you sure that’s a good idea?

**Richie Tozier** **✓** **@trashmouthtozier** @BevMarsh absolutely not

**William Denbrough** **✓** **@BillDWriter** @trashmouthtozier @BevMarsh Welcome to the Losers Club

**Richie Tozier** **✓** **@trashmouthtozier** @BillDWriter YOU STOLE MY LINE!!

**Eddie Kaspbrak** **@EddieK** @BillDWriter @trashmouthtozier This was a terrible idea.

Eddie rolls his eyes and finishes his coffee. He shuffles off to his bathroom to get ready.

When he comes back out, Richie’s slumped on the couch staring at his phone.

“You good Rich?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah,” Richie says, “Solidifying plans with Bev and Haystack.”

“Ok,” Eddie smiles. “I’m gonna go, ok?”

“Yeah,” Richie grins up at him. “Good luck, man.”

“Thanks, Rich,” Eddie laughs. He presses a kiss to Richie’s forehead and turns to leave.

“Wait!” Richie says. “Room key.”

Richie digs his wallet out of his pocket and tosses one of the keys to Eddie.

Eddie catches it and smiles. “Thanks.”

Richie shrugs. “I’ll look better the next time I see you,” he says.

“See that you do,” Eddie sniffs dramatically and turns to go.

Richie’s laughter follows him into the hall. It sits warm, curled up in his chest, and he can’t keep the smile off his face.

He feels like he’s floating all the way to the lawyer’s office. He’s practically whistling when he walks through the door and checks in with the receptionist. He’s smiling until the reality of the situation settles heavy across his shoulders while he sits waiting for his lawyer. When he’s right on the edge of panic, the receptionist calls his name. He smiles at her and follows her into his lawyer’s office.

Maddie Nelson, who came with high praise from his co-worker Greg, turns out to be a tiny slip of a woman. She’s shorter than Bev, with thick curly blonde hair. She smiles at him from under trendy gold framed glasses.

“Mr. Kaspbrak,” she says, gesturing him to a seat. “Nice to meet you face to face.”

“Absolutely, Ms. Nelson,” he says, returning her smile and taking a seat.

“Maddie, please,” she smiles.

The meeting is surprisingly quick and reassuring and it helps settle Eddie a little. There’s a few technicalities that have to be addressed, but Maddie feels confident about the process on their end.

At some point during the meeting his phone buzzes and he looks towards his pocket.

“You can get it,” Maddie says.

Eddie slips his phone out with an apologetic smile. He’s got a message from Richie. It’s a picture of him and Bev and Ben. No message, just a picture of the three of them grinning wide at the camera. He smiles fondly and pockets his phone.

Maddie wraps things up quickly after that. Eddie stands and lets himself be ushered out of the office a little in a daze. Things are going smoothly on his end. Now he has to meet up with Myra.

He thinks about going to the house, then quickly dismisses the idea. He heads back to the hotel to gather his thoughts.

Once he’s back in the hotel room, he starts researching therapists. He’s deep into the rabbit hole of reviews when his phone buzzes. 

**Ben:** They’re so cute.  
Attached is a photo of Bev helping Richie into a blazer. Bev is clearly in the middle of a lecture and Richie is looking at the blazer with contempt.

**Eddie:** I knew she’d be able to talk him into better clothes.

**Ben:** If anyone could it’s Bev.

**Ben:** She’s already decided she’s going to design him some things for whenever he goes on tour or whatever next. She said something about making sure he looks good if she’s going to have to acknowledge that they’re friends.

**Eddie:** I could kiss her. She’s a miracle worker.

**Ben:** lol. Hey, meet us for lunch?

Eddie looks at his computer screen then shrugs. His research can wait.

**Eddie:** Sure! Let me know when and where.

Ben takes a few minutes to get back to him, he must be conferring with Richie and Bev. When Ben does send a time and location, Eddie frowns. It’s a little closer to his house than he’d hoped. He shakes his head. It’ll be fine. Myra should be at work.

He confirms and sets himself an alarm and gets back to his research.

Ben sends him a few more photos, candids of Richie and Bev goofing around, while he waits for lunch time to roll around. Eddie keeps researching until his alarm goes off, then heads to the café.

Richie, Bev, and Ben have beaten him there and they wave from their table when he walks in. He smiles, waves back, and gets in line. He orders and steps away from the counter to join his friends.

“Eddie?” a voice calls. Myra.

Eddie’s stomach drops and he freezes. He must look panicked because Richie freezes mid-sentence, looking at him wide-eyed, and Bev half stands. He shakes his head and turns.

“Myra,” he says. She’s standing in line, staring at him in confusion.

“I thought you were out of town?” She says.

“I was,” he says, and glances back at his friends’ table.

Richie is watching him intently. Bev looks worried. Ben turns around to face him.

“Eddie?” Ben says. “You okay?”

Eddie nods. He sighs. He turns back to Myra.

“Order your lunch; we’ll talk.” He says.

She looks back and forth between Eddie and the table of his friends. She nods uncertainly and Eddie finds an empty table.

Eddie’s phone chimes.

**Bev:** Your wife?

**Eddie:** Yeah. I’m gonna talk with her then come join you guys.

**Bev:** You want us to go?

**Eddie:** Nah. It’s fine. Just keep Richie with you ok?

**Bev:** You got it.

**Eddie:** Thanks.

Myra settles across from him.

“I thought you were in Maine,” she says.

“I was. I got back in town late last night. Met with my lawyer this morning,” he says.

“You didn’t come home,” she says.

“No.” Eddie says. He doesn’t elaborate.

“You’re serious then, about, about the divorce,” she says. She sounds resigned.

“I am,” he says.

She closes her eyes, nods. “Okay.” She says.

“Okay?” Eddie asks.

“Yes, okay.” She sighs. “I thought about it while you were gone. I’m not, I’m not happy about it. But I understand.”

Eddie’s staring at her. He had expected this part to be a lot more complicated.

“We’re not happy like this, Eddie,” Myra says. “We’re living, but we’re not happy. And it’s not like it came as a huge surprise, we’ve been so distant for so long. So, I understand. I’ll sign whatever I need to. You can have your lawyer email me.”

“You’re sure?” Eddie asks.

“I’m sure,” Myra smiles wryly.

“Thank you,” Eddie says, gently, sincerely.

Myra nods.

Ben slips past the table then returns with a couple of trays. He looks at Eddie questioningly, everything ok. Eddie nods, everything’s fine. Ben smiles, good.

“You know him?” Myra asks.

“Yeah, I met up with a few old friends while I was in Maine. Three of them are also in town this week and we decided to meet for lunch.” Eddie says.

Myra nods. She looks thoughtful. Her name is called from the counter.

“That’s me,” she says. “I got it to go. I’ll, I’ll see you around, Eddie.”

Eddie nods. “Goodbye, Myra,” he says.

She leaves, and Eddie takes a deep breath. He runs a hand down his face. He hauls himself up to go join his friends.

Ben wordlessly slides his food to him and Eddie nods in thanks.

They sit in tense silence for a moment. Richie is shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Bev is staring at him.

Eddie sighs. “Okay, what.” He says.

“How did it go?” Bev asks.

“A lot better than I thought it would, actually,” he says. “She said okay. She didn’t even ask why. She said she knew we weren’t happy and that she’d sign whatever she needed to. I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy.”

“That’s great, Eddie,” Bev says, smiling widely.

Eddie finally lets himself really look at Richie.

Richie looks good. Bev’s really done her job well. Eddie’s breath catches. He can see Ben smirking at him out of the corner of his eye. Eddie can’t quite decipher the look Richie’s giving him.

“Rich?” he says.

“I’m ok,” Richie says. He eats his sandwich mindlessly while he watches Eddie.

Eddie figures he’ll ask him later, when they’re alone.

“How was shopping?” Eddie asks.

Bev complains about how difficult it was to get Richie into something other than jeans. Ben and Richie chime in with commentary. The awkward tension dissipates and Eddie smiles.

They spend much longer at lunch than Eddie figured they would since they just spent several days in each other’s pockets. Bev hugs Eddie tightly when they finally get around to splitting up and Eddie returns it with as much force.

“I’m proud of you,” she whispers in his ear.

“Good luck,” he whispers back.

“How’s your lawyer?” Bev asks.

“I like her and she came very well recommended. I can send you her info, if you’d like,” Eddie offers.

“Yes, please,” Bev says. “I’d like to get things moving. I’d like to be done with him.”

Eddie nods and texts Maddie’s info to her.

He and Richie head back to the hotel in silence. Eddie thought Richie would have been talking nonstop, but something is clearly weighing on him.

Once they get back to the room, Eddie guides Richie to the couch.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie says.

Richie sighs. He looks at Eddie and must realize that Eddie’s not going to let this go.

“It was weird to see your wife,” he says.

“I’m sorry, Rich. I never meant for you to have to-”

“No, no, I’m fine. It’s just, she’s real? I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. Like when I hadn’t seen her, she wasn’t a real person who’s marriage I was splitting up?” Richie says.

“Ok, first, we’re not splitting up because of you, Rich. I made this call before I even remembered you. I had almost done this several times already and Mike’s call was the final kick in the ass I needed to actually follow through. We weren’t happy. And I’m fucking gay,” Eddie says.

“But-”

“No, fuck that. Me remembering I’ve been in love with you this whole time is a completely separate thing and I refuse to let you beat yourself up over it. That’s stupid, Rich, and you’re not stupid. You deserve to be happy. I deserve to be happy. _She_ deserves to be happy. And the way things were, they weren’t good. I was miserable, trapped in my past and not letting it go. She was perfectly content to take care of me. It wasn’t healthy, what we had. You’re not splitting up my marriage, Richie, _I_ am, and that’s a good thing.” Eddie says.

Richie’s staring at him, mouth open, speechless. He’s not crying, but it’s a close thing, his eyes red-rimmed and watery behind his glasses.

“I love you,” Richie manages to say, voice thick with emotion.

“I love you, too, Rich. So fucking much. I’m sorry we ran into Myra. I’m sorry you felt like it was your fault.” Eddie thinks he’s going to cry too.

Richie laughs, but it’s strangled and he’s crying. Eddie pulls him into a hug and lets himself cry too. More out of relief than anything. They sit there like that for a while, holding onto each other. Eventually they put a movie on and half nap through it.

The next time Eddie checks, it’s nine in the evening. Richie’s sleeping and Eddie is loath to wake him. He slips off the couch and orders pizza. While he waits, he checks his email.

Maddie has sent him all the paperwork he’ll need to fill out. She lets him know he can do it electronically but will need to get it notarized. She suggests he come by the office to make it easier.

He begins filling out the paperwork, it’s easier than he thought, but a lot to get through. Still, he powers through it in the time it takes for the pizza to get there.

He emails the completed paperwork back to Maddie and includes Myra’s email address. He says he can come by anytime this week to sign.

He meets the pizza guy then takes it back upstairs. He’s surprised to find that Richie is still asleep when he comes back into the room.

He sets the food down then makes his way over to the couch.

“Richie,” He says, crouching next to him and running his hand through Richie’s hair. “Rich, wake up.”

“Eddie?” Richie says, blinking awake.

“Hey, there you are. I got pizza, ok?” he says.

Richie nods and sits up. He stretches and groans. “How long was I out?”

“I’m not sure,” Eddie laughs. “I was out for a while too. It’s nine, but I figured we should probably still eat dinner.”

Richie nods and hops up to get plates down. Eddie opens the box up and Richie moans at the smell.

They chat lazily while they eat. It’s comfortable, easy, and Eddie is momentarily furious about how much time he missed out on. He watches Richie eat his pizza happily and the anger subsides. He’s got him now, he gets to have these little moments with him, they’ll make up for lost time.

Richie once again gives him a sweet kiss to the forehead when he tells him goodnight.

Eddie’s stomach swoops. But he wants to do this right, and Richie was clearly freaked out by seeing Myra, so, he’ll wait. They’ve got the rest of their lives.

So he hugs Richie tightly and whispers goodnight.

Eddie startles awake to a muffled shout that sounds like his name. His heart pounds in his chest. It’s dark, and he has no idea what time it is. He clicks the light on. There’s muffled sobbing now, and Eddie knows it’s got to be Richie. He makes his way across the suite to Richie’s door, turning on the lights as he goes. He hesitates.

Richie calls his name, loud, terrified, and Eddie’s apprehension disappears. He tries the door handle, it’s unlocked. He opens the door and slips inside. The light from the open-door illuminates where Richie’s thrashing in his sleep. The sheets are twisted around him and his hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat.

“Eddie!” Richie yells again.

Eddie makes his way to the side of Richie’s bed. “Rich,” He says gently.

“Eddie,” Richie sobs.

“Rich,” Eddie says. He reaches out and grabs Richie’s shoulder. “Rich, come on, wake up.”

The touch seems to be enough; Richie startles awake with a gasp. His eyes are wild and his chest is heaving.

“Eds,” he whispers.

“Yeah, Rich, I’m here, you’re okay,” Eddie says.

Richie reaches out and presses a shaking hand against Eddie’s stomach.

“You’re okay?” Richie says.

“Yeah, Rich, I’m okay,” Eddie says. He lays his hand over Richie’s on his stomach. “You gonna tell me what this is?”

Richie opens his mouth then closes it, blinks up at him.

“That’s the second time you’ve done that, Rich,” Eddie says gently. “Can you tell me?”

Richie sits up and turns, buries his face in Eddie’s chest.

“The Deadlights,” Richie says, “I, I saw you die in the Deadlights.”

Eddie sucks in a harsh breath. “Oh, Richie, baby, I’m okay,” he says softly and cards a hand through Richie’s hair.

“You thought you killed It and you were trying to get me to wake up and you were crouched over me and It, It, It fucking, stabbed you through the back. You, you fucking died in my arms,” Richie says. He’s shaking and Eddie’s shirt feels damp against his skin.

“Hey,” Eddie gentles, “It didn’t happen. I’m okay. You’re okay. Our friends are okay. It’s dead.”

“I know,” Richie whispers.

Eddie wants to help, but there’s nothing he can say. He holds onto Richie tightly, because that’s all he can do for now. Richie holds onto him just as tightly and eventually his tears stop.

“Sorry I woke you up,” Richie mutters.

“It’s fine, Rich,” Eddie says. He tips Richie’s head back. Richie blinks up at him. “It’s fine.”

Richie nods. “Thanks,” he says.

“Of course,” Eddie says and presses a kiss to Richie’s forehead.

When he pulls back, Richie’s looking up at him, eyes full of emotion. Eddie’s chest goes tight. He feels a little desperate. He leans back down to press a kiss to Richie’s mouth. Richie sighs against his mouth and melts into the kiss. Richie whimpers when Eddie pulls back. Eddie presses his forehead against Richie’s. They stay that way for a long minute, pressed close, breathing each other in.

Eddie sighs and leans back.

“Stay,” Richie whispers.

Eddie’s torn. He wants to, he wants so badly. But he shouldn’t, right? He shouldn’t because everything’s not settled, because, because, because.

“Please,” Richie says, “Nothing has to happen, I just, I don’t want to be alone.”

Eddie caves. “Okay,” he says.

Richie smiles, it’s tired, frayed around the edges.

“I’m going to turn the lights back out, okay?” Eddie says. “I’ll be right back.”

Richie nods and Eddie goes. When he gets back, he slips quietly into bed beside Richie.

“Hey,” Richie says, quiet. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“I know, Rich,” Eddie says, reaching out and taking Richie’s hand in the dark. “I want to be here.”

“I just, I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you into anything,” Richie says.

“You’re not, Rich. I just want to do this right,” Eddie says.

Richie shifts closer to him. “There’s no right or wrong here, Eds. There’s just us, figuring things out as we go,” Richie says. “We can take things as fast or slow as you want. You tell me what you need, okay?”

Eddie’s going to cry. “I love you,” he says.

“I love you too,” Richie says. He pulls Eddie close. “This okay?”

“Yeah,” Eddie says, pressing his face into Richie’s chest.

They lay there in content silence.

“Hey,” Eddie says. “You gotta tell me what you need too, okay? This goes both ways.”

“Okay,” Richie says and presses a kiss to the top of his head. “I need to sleep.”

“So sleep,” Eddie laughs. “I’ll be here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Eddie wakes up warm. The room is full of sunlight. Richie’s still asleep next to him. He smiles and rolls over to check his phone. It’s much later than Eddie usually wakes up and he stretches comfortably and enjoys it.

Richie blinks awake not long after Eddie. “Hey,” he says, a wide, gentle smile on his face.

“Hey yourself,” Eddie says.

Richie hums. “You’re cute in the morning,” he says.

“You can’t even see me,” Eddie laughs.

“Mmm, don’t need to see you to know you’re cute, Eds.”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Sap,” he says.

“For you? Absolutely,” Richie says. He slides over to press a kiss to Eddie’s shoulder. “Big plans today?”

“Nope,” Eddie says.

“Spend the day with me?” Richie says. “Let’s do dumb tourist shit even though we’ve both lived here.”

Eddie laughs. “Sure,” he says.

They split up to take showers and get ready. Richie’s long done by the time Eddie gets through his routine. He’s pouring coffee when Eddie makes his way back out of his room. He’s dressed in something Bev helped pick out and he looks good.

He tosses a grin over his shoulder when he hears Eddie come in then turns to hand him a cup of coffee.

They do spend the day doing dumb tourist shit. They’re sitting at lunch when their phones chime simultaneously.

**Bill:** And we’re done

**Bev:** With what???

**Mike:** With packing. Bill just needed to be a dramatic shit about it.

**Stan:** Already?

**Mike:** It’s a small apartment. And it’s not like I had a ton of stuff.

**Bill:** He’s a minimalist apparently.

**Ben:** So what you’re saying is that we should meet up in NYC this weekend, right?

**Richie:** That’s what I’m hearing!

**Richie:** Hearing? Seeing? Reading?

Eddie snorts. Richie grins at him.

**Eddie:** Technically seeing or reading.

**Stan:** Is this really happening? Cause I’ll need to buy a plane ticket.

They hash out the details over the rest of the day and Eddie’s really looking forward to seeing everyone without being terrified.

Eddie checks his email once they get back from their day of adventure. He’s got an email from Maddie asking if he’s willing to come by her office and meet with her and Myra tomorrow. He answers the affirmative then locks his phone. He sets it on the coffee table and sinks into the couch.

“You okay?” Richie asks.

“Yeah,” Eddie smiles up at him. “Just going to go sign paperwork at my lawyer’s office tomorrow.”

“You want me to go with you for emotional support?” Richie asks.

Eddie’s torn. On the one hand, he’d like to have Richie there. He knows he’s likely to get stuck in a mental spiral after this, and Richie’s good at distracting him, good at pulling him out of . On the other hand, Myra will be there and he’s not sure having Richie there at the same time is a good idea.

Eddie sighs. “I’d like to have you there, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he says.

“Okay, can you expand on that?” Richie says.

“Myra will be there,” Eddie says.

“And you don’t want things to be weird.” Richie nods.

“Yeah,” Eddie sighs.

“Okay, so what if I drive you there and wait for you in the car? That way I can be there before and after but I’m not there to make things weird,” Richie suggests.

Eddie really should stop forgetting how smart Richie is. He grins and leans forward to plant a kiss on Richie’s forehead.

“You’re a genius, Rich,” He says.

Richie blushes, which, cute. Eddie smiles at him.

So, Richie does drive Eddie to his lawyers office the next morning. They’re quiet on the way there, both filled with anxious energy.

The meeting is calm, quiet, and over quickly. Myra smiles sadly at him as she leaves. Maddie gives him a quick rundown of what the rest of the process is. He leaves feeling much lighter.

He gets in the car and Richie looks at him expectantly. Eddie grins back at him.

“I take it things went well?” Richie says.

“Yeah,” Eddie says. He reaches over and grabs Richie’s hand. “Let’s get brunch.”

Richie smiles at him and asks him where. Eddie directs him to a little place he really likes.

Over brunch, Eddie starts making plans for their future. Richie sits through most of Eddie’s stream of consciousness rambling with a starry-eyed smile, mostly nodding along to whatever he says. By the time Eddie’s done talking, he’s sure Richie has no idea what he’s actually said. Eddie says as much.

“Honestly, Eds, I’m just along for the ride,” Richie says. “My plans for the next however long are to write enough of my own material to fill a show. I can do that from anywhere and at any time, so whatever you need, that’s what we’ll do.”

Eddie’s going to cry. Richie’s always been so good to him. There’s still so much that needs to be figured out, so much that Eddie needs to take care of, but knowing Richie’s got him, that Richie will take care of him, it’s the best feeling in the world. He gives Richie a watery smile. He’s once again _so_ grateful to have this amazing man back in his life.

“Come on,” Richie says, smiling softly, like he can tell Eddie’s feeling overwhelmed. “Let’s head back and sleep off all this food.”

Eddie would happily follow him to the ends of the earth, but for now he settle for taking Richie’s hand and following him back to the car.


End file.
